Kombu up.

Well, it's just about summer, and most of us girls are eyeing our bikinis with squinty, sideways glances and a raised eyebrow. Here's an idea for a nice bath soak to help your skin be smooth and glowing. Kombu (seaweed. Read: kelp.) is used in Japanese cooking for all kinds of things, including the ubiquitous dashi broth. Sometimes it's made into tea and used to break down fats in the body and flush them out. Soaking in a bath of kombu and salt is said to have the same effect, and it makes your skin really soft. If it happens to remove cellulite with regular use, then blessed be. The salt will draw toxins out of your body, so it's a good idea to rinse off when you're done soaking. By the way, get your kombu at an Asian market. I get huge packages there for 89 cents, as opposed to a package one-quarter the size for six dollars at the health food store. Seriously.

Kombu Bath

3 six inch pieces of kombu

one big handful of sea or Epsom salt

Put kombu and salt in tub, and run a bath as hot as is comfy. Soak for 10-15 minutes. You can rub the kombu over your skin for extra softness if you want. Do this once a week for best results. Rinse, dry and reuse the kombu up to three times.

How ironic. The UPS man just rang the doorbell and left my new swim suits waiting for me. Dun dun duhhhh!